Vice Admiral David J. Venlet

Program Executive Officer - F-35 Lightning II Program

Vice Admiral Venlet is the program executive officer for the F-35 Lightning II Program. He previously served as commander Naval Air Systems Command, headquartered in Patuxent River, Md. Other flag tours include program executive officer, Tactical Air Programs and commander Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division, with responsibility for Navy weapons and systems RDT&E and fleet support capabilities at China Lake and Point Mugu, Calif. He served as NAVAIR assistant commander for Test and Evaluation, and for Shore Installation Management.

Fleet tours include VF-41 as an F-14 Tomcat radar intercept officer embarked in USS Nimitz. He wears the distinguished Flying Cross for action in VF-41. After redesignation as a naval aviator he flew with VF-143 as an F-14 pilot embarked in USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and with VF-101 at NAS Oceana as a Tomcat instructor pilot and A-4 adversary pilot.

Tours in Naval Air Systems Command include Strike test pilot at Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, the F/A-18 program in various capacities including class desk officer and deputy program manager. He was executive assistant to the commander, Naval Air Systems Command and served as program manager for Air-to-Air Missiles involving AIM-9X development.

Venlet is from Pottstown, Penn., and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. He is a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School and US Naval Test Pilot School and is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. He has a BS in Systems Engineering and MS in Aerospace Engineering.